Reading 'The Carpenter' for the second time was easy for me because even though all of Serena's men in the 'Workplace Encounters' series are terrific characters, Tom and Matt are two of my favorites, at least so far.

The first tale in the 'Gemstone Chronicles' is an endearing love story, endowed with marvelous, well-developed characters, but it also has its dark side, featuring malicious villains with hidden political agendas...

A Naughty Trip (A New Horizons Story)

Release Date: 03 July 2011

Description:

Anton Collins, a shy research librarian, has decided to change his life now that he has met former gay porn star, Scott Black. Following his lover to Scotland to explore the Black family's manuscript collection will be the biggest adventure of his life. Or so he thinks, until he finds out what Scott has planned for their in-flight entertainment...

This story is set right before the beginning of Discovering the Actor (New Horizons, #2).

“Just wait till we’re in the air.” Scott squeezed Anton’s hand gently, loving the shiver which ran through the man’s entire body at those words. The sexy research librarian was the most sensitive lover he’d ever had.

“Oh, but you have no idea what I have planned for your in-flight entertainment on the next leg of our trip.” Scott gave Anton his most provocative wink. He’d booked them business class for the second leg of their journey from Los Angeles to Edinburgh, wanting to make the flight from Newark to Scotland memorable in more ways than one.

“My own personal entertainment?” Anton’s eyebrows rose.

“Extremely personal.” Scott winked. “Have you heard of the Mile High Club?”

“Scott!” Anton looked too cute when he tried for indignant.

“Anton?” Scott feigned innocence, knowing full well that his lover was on to him. He’d only recently given up a career as a gay porn star, so innocent was one of the least likely images for Scott to project. Not only that, but since he’d got together with Anton they’d constantly tried to outdo each other in coming up with the most deliciously naughty plans for sex in exciting places. That, Scott had found over the last month since meeting Anton at the Komlos Foundation’s Santa Barbara branch, was half the fun of having an intelligent partner.

“Really!” Anton put his ‘prim and proper’ librarian’s face on, except it didn’t work half as well without the reading glasses.

“What?” Scott only barely held back the grin that wanted to emerge. He’d had no idea acting classes would come in handy when joking around with his lover.

Scott wished he could slide his hand into them, pull Anton closer and kiss him for hours. Unfortunately, behaving that way in public was not going to go down well with the authorities. He’d have to wait till he was able to make love to Anton in the air. Just thinking about it had him half hard. Shit. Walking onto their plane with a hard on was not going to be easy or much fun.

“I’m totally serious. And so what if it’s illegal?” Scott entwined their fingers. “Making love on the beach like we did after we’d only just met was not entirely within the limits of the law, either—nor was that time in your office.”

“Okay, okay, I get it.” Anton blushed and pushed his slightly-too-long hair off his fine-boned face. “But do you have to talk about it like this? Someone could hear.”

“I’ll talk about it because I know it makes you hot.” Scott glanced at his lover’s groin, where a significant bulge was trying to push its way past the zipper.

“Shit.” Anton put a hand over the unruly part of his anatomy as his hips jerked the tiniest amount. “I really, really don’t want to come in my pants right now.”

“Why not? It’s a new location for us, and we do have a couple of spare sets of clothing in our hand luggage.” Scott, having experienced lost luggage a few times too often, had insisted they come prepared. He didn’t really want to come in his pants, either—they’d more than done their share of that during the first week after meeting, and even a couple of times since then. But it was such fun to tease Anton.

“Well…” Anton’s gaze turned calculating as he looked up and down Scott’s increasingly aroused body.

Scott groaned. Anton was getting good at returning the favour of building sexual tension between them. It was going to be a very long layover. The boarding procedures would probably kill him, and who knew how long it would be before take-off and for the seatbelt signs to be switched off?

“Now look what you’ve done.” Scott discreetly pointed at his groin. A full erection was now attempting to tent his well-worn jeans. Not for the first time, he wondered whether excessive libido had been the reason for his forefathers to invent and wear kilts. He might not be a Highlander, but he could wear a kilt as well as the next Scottish man. He’d left his behind when he’d moved out of his parents’ house ten years ago, but now that he was returning, maybe it was time to start wearing one again? Especially with Anton around.

“It’s only fair.” Anton’s grin was wide enough to split his face. “And anyway, what are the washrooms for?”